For those of us who spend a great deal of time on the water.....this is a great read..

http://speypages.com/speyclave/showthread.php?t=51371

...Printing this out and posting on my wall

Speaking as a former (yes, I was young once, and fit) lifeguard, I say this article is a must-read.

great read, especially for those with young kids

copying and passing along. very important read.
thanks, budd

that article needs to be a sticky on every fishing/yaking,etc. site. Very good Bud; excellent; thanks for sharing; lots of stuff I didn't know-p-

It was a good ending, thanks to the fact that Cody saved a man from drowning, Saturday, on the South Llano River at Oktoberfisch.

The man was tall about 6'3", but he'd capsized in a small rapid, and the eddy and undertoe were pulling him under. He was grasping for dear life to the grass growing out of the side of the bank, which caused the capsizing to occur in the first place. Cody was less than 15 feet away, and the man's head was titled back--no hollering, no thrashing, no nothing but sheer panic, as the undertoe slowly pulled him under. Cody had to convince the man to let go of the worthless grass and grab Cody's arm. The gentleman was not responding. Finally, the man let go, and grabbed and clawed at Cody's arm. All it took was about one foot to move the man out of the undertoe's and eddy's grasp, but it was one foot the man could not make on his own.

We looked for the gentleman and his buddy at the Saturday evening dinner, but we did not see them. The gentleman had already had a rough day on the water prior to that experience. We did see him a little later kayaking on down the river, and he looked great, but I think the man was shaken to his core.

In talking with his buddy, the man relayed that he believed he had almost died, and no, the man, his buddy, Cody, nor myself had on lifejackets. Cody had his lifejacket on his pontoon boat, but I did not see a lifejacket on board the man's kayak, which I rescued downstream, nor did I see a lifejacket on his buddy's kayak. Like myself, if they had them, they were stowed in the dry storage compartment, which doesn't do anyone any good, unless you're stopped by a Game Warden or Park Officer and pass inspection for having a floatation device aboard.

All-in-all, for Cody and I, it was a great trip with fantastic fishing and temperatures--both water and air, but it could have been a tragic day. For those of you who know Cody, he is very shy, quiet, and reserved, but when it counted, Cody did not hesitate. He was on the walkie-talkie with me, telling me to retrieve the green water bottle and unmanned yellow kayak floating down the river, when he simply said, "I gotta go, I gotta save someone."